Dancing with the Torah

A true Simchat Torah story.

He came by my house every six months or so, for a modest contribution to support the immigrant village he helped build in Israel to absorb new arrivals from Russia. His excited, high pitched voice and happy, dancing eyes belied the deep furrows in his brow which were painfully etched by decades of punishment at the hands of the communist authorities for the terrible crime of being an observant Jew in the Soviet Union during the 50's, 60's and early 70's.

It became a ritual. I'd ask the diminutive rabbi if he'd like a bite to eat. He would always counter in his Russian accented Yiddish, "Perhaps, just a glass tea." My wife would serve him a steaming cup of dark orange brew along with a generous slice of home made cake, both of which seemed to help straighten his sagging shoulders just a bit. Trudging door to door for small donations, it had certainly been awhile since his last square meal.

He looked up at me and smiled broadly. "Did you know there was such a thing as a Cantonist Shul?"

I remembered stories I heard as a child which described some of the darkest, but most heroic days in Jewish history.

They would be kidnapped from their parents' home, tortured repeatedly until they either accepted Christianity or died of their wounds.

The Cantonists were Jews who from 1825-1840 were forcibly conscripted into the Russian Czar's army from as early as the age of 10, and obligated to serve for 25 years. The authorities saw it as a corrective, forced assimilation of stubborn Jews into Russian society. They would be kidnapped from their parents' home, tortured repeatedly until they either accepted Christianity or died of their wounds.

They were starved, beaten and lashed, often with whips fashioned from their own confiscated tefillin. In their malnourished states, the open wounds on their chests and backs would turn septic and many boys, who had heroically resisted renouncing their Judaism for months, would either perish or cave in and consent to the show baptism. The Czar would have only reliable Christian Russians defending the motherland.

To avoid this horrific fate, some parents actually had their sons' limbs amputated in the forests at the hands of local blacksmiths, and their sons -- no longer able bodied -- would avoid conscription. Many other children tragically committed suicide rather than convert.

Some 40,000 young Jewish boys were forced into Czar Nicholas' army, and very few emerged alive as practicing Jews.

Even the brave few survivors who secretly maintained their faith and managed to return to their families 25 years later, by and large found themselves shunned as traitors to Judaism.

"The Cantonists actually did have a shul of their own," the rabbi continued. "After all, they had nowhere else to go."

"My grandfather told me that he once attended the Cantonist Shul on Simchat Torah. The Cantonists could dance like Cossacks. They were huge, strong men, and the heavy Torah scrolls would seem like toothpicks in their arms. They effortlessly danced on for hours on end. Although they were looked down upon by other Jews, and they were not very learned and really couldn't observe the Torah properly, they were nonetheless able to rejoice in their Judaism and celebrate the Torah. It was truly amazing."

He paused long enough to dip a sugar cube into the still hot tea cup, placed the cube in his mouth and swallowed another long swig of the tea.

"Then for the final hakafah (circuit around the synagogue's central lectern), the Cantonists, as if on cue, suddenly removed their shirts in unison! With the Torahs held tightly to their bare skin which was covered with the ugliest welts and scars you ever saw, they danced around even more energetically. Their smiles were now giving way to streams of tears as they looked out into the crowd of assembled Jews, as if to say, 'You may have studied and observed this Torah, but we gave our bodies and our lives for it. The Torah is at least as much ours as it is yours!'"

As he put the tea cup down, he couldn't hide the tremor in his hand which caused a rattled meeting of cup to saucer.

Wiping away a tear with his napkin, he said, "In democratic America it is so easy. Yet so many say, 'It's so hard.' Go figure."

The opinions expressed in the comment section are the personal views of the commenters. Comments are moderated, so please keep it civil.

Visitor Comments: 36

(35)
tanya,
October 14, 2012 7:22 PM

Yes.

Wow, feeling lik a not good enough jew. Inspired though.

(34)
Suzanne,
October 8, 2012 11:23 PM

Love this article

Every year I look forward to reading this article, it brings me such joy to think of their rejoicing. And yet there is sorrow too, as it was just a few days ago that we asked HaShem to forgive us for any false oaths. Yet as a community obviously we were not forgiving.

(33)
Anonymous,
October 8, 2012 6:56 PM

Dancing with the Torah! Oh My God

incredible. very touching. very sad and so brave.

(32)
Anonymous,
October 5, 2012 7:15 PM

wow!

Amazing! simply amazing

(31)
Anonymous,
October 5, 2012 3:05 PM

gave me chills... thank u for sharing this

(30)
Lynne,
October 5, 2012 2:36 PM

As a Christian, I am deeply grieved that such things were done by those who were ignorant of
G-d's love for His people; Christians in name only.
It is probably to little to late! But I would like to ask for the forgiveness of your people for the terrible things that were done in the name of Christianity. Those of us who try to live our faith
based on the Scriptures love Israel and the Jewish people.

(29)
ruth housman,
October 5, 2012 11:27 AM

The OW in Powerful Such pain

This is a very deep article, with layers of meaning, for me. It is hard to reconcile, the terrible ways we Jews were treated throughout history with a merciful, loving God. And yet, somehow, these Jews, despite the most horrific treatment, were believers, and danced through their tears. It tears away at me. It makes me weep. And yet, isn't it somehow true, that we laugh till we cry, and that all tragedy has within it, a comedy, some alchemic way to turn what is deeply troubling around. Somehow, this amalgam that is the bittersweet in life, keeps us dancing, and the strength of these men, to affirm that love, is awesome, awe ful, and awful at the same time. We hold so many feelings together, to embrace the whole.
You cannot flay spirit and soul out of a humane being. To do so diminishes those who perform these acts, and also, firm up, inside, a resolve, that is deep, to love, to keep loving, to die loving. And yes, we die, for love, and have, as Jews. In the darkest hours we said the shema and somehow we must have known, it all comes out all right in the end, because we worship a loving God. As prays is, to praise. So it is, a story that is deep, that is cruel, that is crewel, an embroidery, a tallis, a shawl, a deep feeling of Achavat, Israel.

Brenda Erratt,
October 7, 2012 5:21 PM

to Ruth

Beautiful response Ruth.

(28)
Esther Deutsch,
October 5, 2012 6:23 AM

wow!

Beautiful article and a lesson well taken!
Thank you for posting Rabbi Milstein. So many things we take for granted...Mi K'amcha Yisroel!!!

WE (JEWS) R ENTRUSTED WITH A SACRED NDUTY, NO MATTER THE LEVEL OF ONE'S LEARNING OR INVOLVEMENT IN YIDDISH-KEIT - MAY HA-SHEM GIVE US 'STRENGTH' TO UPHOLD THE LESSONS & VALUES ENNUMERATED IN OUR TORAH! CHAG SEMACH. . .

(25)
moshe,
September 29, 2010 3:22 AM

cantonist emunah

A catonist shul on Rosh Hashona , one of them gets up to speak. Brothers, what can we ask for this year? For the well being of our family? We have no family. For money? That we dont need it in the armey. For health? Our bodys are beaten and tourterd. All wecan ask for is Yisgade Viyisgadesh Shmai Rabba. May the name of hashem be exhaulted and sanctified.

(24)
Inna S.,
September 28, 2010 12:32 AM

Thanks for the wonderful article

Dear Rabbi Milstein,
Thank you very much for this article. I myself came from former Soviet Union, and that is true that non-religious Jews look down at their "learned" fello Jews and vise versa. We have to understand that until we start loving and respecting ourselves, no one else will. Shalom from US

(23)
Anonymous,
September 26, 2010 1:33 PM

cantonists

Shame on any Jew that looks down on another Jew for any reason.

(22)
Sarah,
September 26, 2010 11:51 AM

For my Fathers house will be a house of prayer for ALL nations!

(21)
Anonymous,
December 16, 2009 8:21 AM

The Torah..
The torah belongs to all Jews. No matter what level, of torah knowledge one has. Remember your a Jew from birth right. and we should all unite, and not be prejudice, just because a person has more knowledge than another."United we stand devided we fall"..

(20)
Anonymous,
December 16, 2009 8:20 AM

In democratic America it is so easy. It is very easy! That is probably why "they were looked down upon by other Jews" is still applicable to immigrants from Russia here in democratic America (actually felt myself couple of times). Even there are couple of real Talmidey Chachomim born in what used to be called USSR and grown up in America, that absolutelly not big number of those who made really hard decision to start observing Torah are "not very learned yet" and very often are looked down. Thanks for the article! Gave me more meaning to rejoyce on Simchas Torah in the shul of Russian Baaley Teshuvahs in NY

(19)
Anonymous,
December 16, 2009 8:20 AM

So Easy, So Hard
We have it so easy here. We are so soft that we cannot handle someone who disagrees with us. What will we do if real persecution comes?

(18)
Anonymous,
December 16, 2009 8:19 AM

A heartrending story
Sometimes when I read a heartrending story like this, tears come to my eyes and I realize that there is an inner cry not only for the innocent victims in the story but for myself, remembering the times when I felt victimized.

(17)
Ron,
October 30, 2005 12:00 AM

Not as hard, but still not too easy

Being a jew today requires lots of sacrifice- maybe of a different kind. Of course, not on the level that the cantonists exhibited. But it is still hard, socially, financially....

(16)
Yehuda Meir,
October 25, 2005 12:00 AM

Hazak Veeimatz!!!

Hazak Veeimatz!!!!

(15)
shira,
October 24, 2005 12:00 AM

Inspiring!

Thanks for such and inspiring story and the reminder!

(14)
Christina Mitchell,
October 24, 2005 12:00 AM

How precious are the Holy Scriptures

Only those who have had to do without know the true value of Torah and the Sacred Scriptures.

(13)
Anonymous,
October 24, 2005 12:00 AM

It hasn't always been so easy

Apparently those who write about how easy it is to be a Jew in the United States grew up in areas where Jew hatred wasn't as outwardly practiced as it was where I was brought up. I was stoned once for being a "Christ killer" (stones were thrown until I bled) and had my Hebrew books torn, thrown into mud puddles, and on many occassions, I was punched, kicked, and persecuted for being a dirty kike. I never had it as bad as the Cantorists, never. And never once had a gentile neighbor even try to come to my rescue.

If asome non-Jews have it their way, we will see a return of Jew hatred in this country again because it is once again being touted and acceptable even in high places in this country.

(12)
Janet,
October 23, 2005 12:00 AM

powerful words

Thank you for such a compelling, inspiring story, and for the reminder about just how much we have to be grateful for. We can truly rejoice!

(11)
Elias Samuel,
October 23, 2005 12:00 AM

A lesson for all of us

Shalom
Amazing story!!!. This is part of a long list of sacrifices Jews have made for ages to keep the Torah alive in their minds, body and soul. Today I see so many Jews who see Torah as a burden on their lives and I have just one thing to say to them 'Life without Torah:is like a body without a soul'.

Wake up from your slumber and behold the beauty and divinity of our sacred Torah and Thank G-D for giving a part of his 'Mind' to us in the form of the Torah.Dont run behind Buddhism and other religions, discover your greatest gift of all'Judaism' and apply your heart and soul in acts which glorify HIS name.

Would love to see more of such inspiring stories on this website.
Barukh Hashem
Eli - Mumbai (India)

(10)
Yehudah Silver,
October 23, 2005 12:00 AM

True Tzadikim

I can not begin to imagine standing in even the shadow of these true tzadikim.

(9)
Eric,
October 23, 2005 12:00 AM

Self-Destructive Teens

It would be great if Rabbi Milstein also could write something about his experience working to prevent self-destructive behavior in teens. That, like his other fine articles on the site, could be very enlightening for us readers. Thank you in advance.

(8)
Anonymous,
October 23, 2005 12:00 AM

Words Cannot Describe.....

This is being repeated in Africa today...

The major difference however is the element of faith. African boys are not being challenged in their belief in
G-d.

After having wept, reading this article- I thought what wonder parents, what wonderful rabbis, and beautiful community that could raise such young men, who could make this kind of sacrifice. That would infuse such relgious dedication that children would even consider, pain- death- and secrecy, rather than direct conversion.

I am made to think of today's youth. How easily they are seduced by rap music, and the values of the major culture. Parents-love and instruct your children. They are precious. Their standing furm for our beliefs- more precious still.

(7)
Menashe Kaltmann,
October 23, 2005 12:00 AM

Two interesting stories about The Cantonists....

Thank you aish.com and Rabbi Milstein for this great article. I have heard 2 stories about Rabbis who lived in 1800's who dealt with several of The Cantonists.
Story No 1 I think The 3rd Lubavitcher Rebbe The Tzemach Tzedek Rabbi Menachem Mendel Tz'l would go to visit the Cantonists and speak and encourage them. Specially arranged meetings were organised where The Tzemach Tzedek would speak to these brave soldiers.
The Rebbe would tell his Chassidim that noone can image the mesirat nefesh ('self sacrifice') these Cantonists have; despite not having the opportunity to learn Torah their sincerity and devotion were outstanding. There are I think many stories about this and I think about The Rebbe's son The fourth Lubaitcher Rebbe Re. Shnuel of Lubavitch Tz'l and the Cantonists.

Story 2
The Chofetz Chaim Tz'l once when travelling went to a hotel and was told there was a Jew in the "treif" non Kosher restaurant there. The Chofetz Chaim was told this Jewish man was previously a Cantonist.
The Chofetz Chaim went to the soldier's table in the non kosher restaurant and spoke to him.
"Is it true that you served 25 years in the Czar's army and still want to be Jewish?" The Chofetz Chaim asked
The man replied "correct"
The Chofetz Chaim continued " Is it true - the stories of the suffering and persection that the Russian Government puts you through?"
The Jewish man replied "Rebbe it is correct, it is almost too hard to tell all what we through..."

The Chofetz Chaim tearfully replied
"Please do me a favour after 120 years on this world please ask Hashem to allow me to enter The World to come"

After this the Jewish soldier always tried to visit Radin and see The Chofetz Chaim. In time he married a Jewish woman and was blessed with a son at the age of 60!
(This son was a Yeshivah bachur in Telz and one of the old Rabbis here in Melbourne OB"M studies with this son(?) or grandson (?) in Telz, Lithuania before World War 2.

(6)
anonymous,
October 20, 2005 12:00 AM

Compelling

One of the best I ever read... Thank you!

(5)
Sandra Hepner,
October 18, 2005 12:00 AM

Brought tears to my eyes...

The C antonists went through fire and water for their belief in the Torah... the Tsars have vanished.. Communist Russia has vanished... but the Torah still dances on... that is true survival with love and strength...Kol Ha Kavod... they dedended the Torah with their bodies...

(4)
anonymous,
October 16, 2005 12:00 AM

Great Story!

Rabbi Milstein is right. we really have to remember to appreciate everything that we have, especially the freedom to practice judaism. With all technological advances and our busy schedules... it is too easy to take for-granted. Excellent point!

(3)
Roz,
October 16, 2005 12:00 AM

impactful, poignant

No matter how many times I hear about the agonies, sacrifices, and life and death decisions our people have been forced to make over the centuries, it never ceases to evoke a visceral reaction. I cannot even conceive of what it must have been like to have a child kidnapped into the Czar's army or to delberately have to disfigure a child to save his life. When we see ourselves slipping in our Jewish lifestyle/way of life, we need to be reminded of how fortunate we are, that we can practice our religion without having to make the horrific sacrifices of our ancestors. A joyous Sukkot to all.

(2)
debbie shapiro,
October 16, 2005 12:00 AM

poignant

This is one of the most powerful articles I've ever read. Short, and very much to the point. Thank you